13 Easy Ways to Use Less Plastic in Your Beauty Routine

When you take a look in your makeup bag, you probably see a lot of one thing: plastic. After the 2016 election—with President Trump’s promises to roll back climate change regulations looming in the distance—I wanted to do my part to make my day-to-day life a little more environmentally friendly. I started looking at blogs and YouTube videos, trying to figure out how to ditch every day plastic items like shampoo bottles and deodorant. Since most plastics don’t biodegrade and manufacturing it can cause pollution, I was curious if there were other products I could use that would be good for me and the environment. Luckily, I found a whole world of beauty products that are not only adorable and useful, but also eco-friendly. So, in honor of Earth Day this Sunday, here are 13 easy things you can do right now to create a beauty routine that’s good for you and the planet.

1

Shampoo Bar

Swap out those plastic shampoo bottles, and use bar shampoo instead. The Montalbano shampoo from LUSH ($11) smells fresh and lathers easily in your hair, so it feels just like using the liquid kind.

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2

Round Bar Tin

But don’t forget to grab a reusable tin ($4) so you can bring it into the store every time you need a new bar.

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3

Conditioner Bar

Luckily, conditioner also comes as a bar like LUSH Jungle ($12) so you can turn your entire hair routine eco-friendly.

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4

Safety Razor

Instead of using disposable razors, switch to a safety razor like this one from Package Free ($25). You have to be careful with these, as they are sharper, but as long as you do your research beforehand, you should be fine. Plus, you’ll be ditching plastic completely if you use one of these stainless steel babies.

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5

Vegan Lipstick

Not only are Axiology lipsticks ($30) vegan, but they also come in boxes created from recycled paper. The boxes are sourced from Bali and made in a woman-owned boutique. Bonus: The lipsticks come in basically every color under the sun.

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6

Deodarant

Deodorant is one of those other sneaky day-to-day items that seems to only come in a plastic container. But this natural option from Meow Meow Tweet ($14) is packaged in a glass jar! When you’re done with the deodorant, simply clean out the jar and reuse it.

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7

Deodorant Stick

The company also makes paper containers ($20), in case you’re more into stick deodorant.

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8

Soap

Using bar soap instead of liquid body wash might be the simplest way to decrease your plastic use. Just buy it without packing or purchase the kind that come in a paper box—and then recycle the paper. This one is Lush’s Sultana of Soap ($7).

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9

Reusable Cloths

Chances are you use cotton pads at some point in your beauty routine, but often those cotton pads (or cotton balls) come in a pesky plastic bag. Instead, get a pack of reusable cloths like these from Package Free ($24) and toss them in the wash whenever you need.

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10

Face Exfoliant

Meow Meow Tweet also has a line of skincare, including this exfoliant ($20) which comes in a paper container. The site says it only has five ingredients, so you know it’ll be gentle on the skin.

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11

Bamboo Brushes

EcoTools is a great place to go if you’re looking for makeup brushes ($15 for a set)—the company uses renewable bamboo to creates the brush handles and their packaging is made from 100 percent tree-free paper.

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12

Pressed Eye Shadow

Elate Clean Cosmetics has minimal packaging and this particular eyeshadow comes in an envelope made of seed paper, meaning you can plant the paper in your garden to grow herbs and wildflowers. The eyeshadow itself comes as a single ($16), but you can buy the company’s bamboo palettes and snap in the eyeshadows magnetically.

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13

Cream Blush

The same company also sells a range of blushes ($29) and highlighters packaged in bamboo casing. According to Elate’s website, any plastic that might come shipped with your products is always re-used by the company and never purchased. They also don’t use additional boxes or packaging in an effort to reduce waste.